User blog:Neildown/Bloodlyre

Here's something you haven't seen in a long while ---> literature from ND! I came up with an idea for a short-story awhile back but I haven't had the determination to finish it, plus the simpler dialogue just doesn't entertain me like it once did. Nonetheless, I thought it might be a worthy entry for anyone looking for something shorter to read.

"Introduction"
"Aaron!" A hoarse voice cried out into the night. A soft, chill breeze of early fall-tide gently rolled through the sparse woodland glades. Lukas hurried on for several steps, crushing bark, twigs, and dried foliage under foot. On a dead outlying branch he rested one foot while propping his back against an adolescent sapling. His arms shuddered and struggled to stay steady, unused to holding a falchion for so long - or at all for that matter. He felt unsure of whether he would even be able to use it if the need came: he was buckling at the elbows and couldn't keep it up much longer, even though he had been switching it from paw to paw. He had no scabbard in which to sheathe it and he doubted the narrow belt around his waist could hold it well.

"Aaron!" He called out once more, and once more received no response. With the futility of the situation settling in he stuck the tip of his weapon through the ground to relieve his arms, which were beginning to cramp. Letting go of it to massage his biceps made him feel exposed, quickly curling a sense of dread down his spine. But no, he reflected. I shouldn't feel this way. I'm the one out here calling into the dark. I'm playing the hunter. This superficial motivation served to embolden him, at least momentarily. He would have to find Aaron before it ran out. Aaron and probably a few soldiers - soldiers he would have to sneak through or fight, but would be unable to because he could barely lift his blasted sword... In which case his dauntless demeanor would mean nothing:  there would be no talking himself out of an encounter with the Bloodbound. Those fiends had been known as allies not five years ago, but they had turned - slow but sure. They had always been an odd little nation/region - odd living and odd culture, but they were peaceful, and advocated friendship. They were the greatest partners in trade. That was when they were more commonly known as Crimsons. As indicated by their titles they had a particular affinity, a particular respect for the color red. Their culture treated it as one of the most important facets of decoration and image. It was the symbol of life - of sacredness. But over the years something had gone sour in the bunch. Decay had set in on their home, and rotted just enough to reach the core. From then on their precious color had gone from an honorific to a message of terror.

From then on all Crimsons became "Bloodbound," at least to Lukas. Bloodbound was a name Crimson soldiers were generally cursed and blessed with - oathed to spill the blood of enemies, and consequently to preserve their own lives, not that they really had anyone to preserve them from. Their corruption brought decadence and decadence begot war, long story short.

Lukas continued on, snatching his sword from the ground and trundling onward. He wasn't particularly cut out for long treks at night according to his nature, but worse was his lack of strength. Strength which ordinarily should have come along with that weak-sightedness, especially as a badger. Unlike the Bloodbound his title was curse-only. All the weaknesses of his culture and species and thensome. And yet he was the only one out in the night searching for Aaron - a lowlife marsupial whom no one appeared to care about - nor he himself really. The creature was obviously and primarily just a source of trouble for whatever locality he happened to find himself in. And yet Lukas was able to sympathize with his plight. Lukas was never a particularly emotional individual, but he knew in his deepest of conscience that this was an injustice that could not be ignored - an injustice that was not just limited to the destruction of thieves and scammers. The Bloods (the short version of Bloodbound obviously) had pilferred from his village in full view of a community that did nothing to stop it. The community considered it a burden lifted from their shoulders to have a petty thief removed, but they were ignorant of the fact that the Bloods could and would do much worse, even without provocation. To let them continue flaunting their power over others would only invite harsher conditions to what was becoming a virtual martial law - not that it wouldn't continue regardless of his actions. The others didn't want to admit the fact that they were in a pot over a fire - that they would be burned whether they submitted and burned if they jumped to arms. The community except for Lukas of course, and just a handful of other young bodies like himself who had little say in legislative circles. He would be hated, perhaps worse, when he was found out as the one who released Aaron from his captors, but the short time Lukas had to learn about this creature - an opossum - bespoke of someone not keen on being bound, and perhaps someone who could circumvent the soldiers, minus his chains. Lukas had enough experience surviving out in the wild, so living outside of the community wouldn't be much trouble for him either, minus his hypothetical chains, if worse came to worst. In effect he therefore sought both an ally and a vengeance upon the Bloods.

Stumbling to a halt he gulped in air under the moonlight, which was the only reason he wasn't running smack-dab into trees on a regular basis - only five so far. The pale illuminating rays filtering through branches were just bright enough to illuminate his breaths, which illustrated how quickly the temperature was dropping. It would be a lost effort - he knew there was no hope of finding the tiny group that had apprehended Aaron - it was stupid to have even tried, for now he was lost, had lost the meager trail of the party, and would have to wait until morning to find his way back. (By then Aaron would be incarcerated in a shack somewhere or perhaps executed.) Too cold and too dark out, and he could easily be cut down by anyone with better eyes - which was basically everyone. Frustrated and sore he crouched down by a large trunk, trying to conceal himself in darkness away from the moon beams, diverting his breathing into the shadows. He called out once more, beckoning either the possum or his captors to come out, but no reply. Wrapping his body up as well as possible with his heavy coat he bunkered down to sleep the night off.

+++

With the snap of a twig Lukas' eyes were locked open, paw gripped on the lethal cutting blade. His arm was stiff and painful, which would prevent him from moving swiftly - except he didn't move at all. It was still dark out, so he couldn't see well, and couldn't have been asleep for very long. The cold hadn't affected him much to his satisfaction - that was one thing that worked in his favor even if most other creatures shared that attribute. A rustling of leaves helped him pinpoint where the intruder was - about twenty meters to his left. Slowly he rose to his footpaws, soundless in the spot he had briefly cleared of foliage before settling in. He locked the blade in an iron grip and levelled it near his chest: though his arm burned it had regained some stamina. Holding onto the tree with his free paw, putting it between himself and the stranger, he spoke out clearly and loudly in a confrontational voice: "Aaron?" It sounded more like a command or a code-word than a question.

The shuffling of leaves and a confounded oath told him he'd stunned whoever it was - he hadn't been seen and he'd a slight vantage point if this was an enemy. Before Lukas resolved to charge forth the intruder let out an exasperated sigh and replied. "You the one that was out shouting?"

He ignored the counter-question: "Are you Aaron?"

"Yes. Who are you?"

Lukas sighed his own relief, at least partially. "Step into the light - that big shaft a few paces to your right."

"Blast it, why should I? Who the dregs are you?" It hadn't yet concluded to flee or remain stationary, shifting in its position.

"I'm a friend if you are."

"Then you should have no qualms with coming out yourself."

Some expletives flew threw his mind. He didn't want to compromise his vantagepoint. Once he was known to be a badger his opponent would know exactly what to do, if indeed it was a foe. His hesitance drew another reply, which was more tense now. "I'm not waiting here for you - come out or I'm gone."

Another stream of silent expletives. His whole body was knotted now with pent up adrenaline. He had to do something. The stranger began backing out and broke into a trot. With a suppressed growl he flung himself out into the open, with the moon looking down on his striped face. The falchion he clasped in both hands as he gave a shout. "Wait!"

A short moment of what sounded to be receeding footsteps ensued. Before backing out however, he heard the voice relatively close to where it had been before. "Huh." It mused aloud.

Lukas, infuriated at his own folly, quickly backed out of the light - though he knew his form was now locked-onto.

"You're out of the box now, buddy. You'd have something pointy or sharp sticking out of your chest right now if I were hunting you." It called from the black area. Lukas shivered uncontrollably, stunned by the stupidity of his mistake.

"Come on, look, I'll show myself." It bargained, and subsequently stepped into the shaft of light that had previously been indicated. It was, thankfully, gratefully the possum. Now able to give a full sigh of relief, Lukas stepped out, but still on-guard. Aaron made no move toward him, so he took some steps toward Aaron instead, keeping a distance of seven meters or so. Able to look closer, the blood on the possum's paws and neck stood out on his disheveled fur. He had no weapons, only dark-colored clothes and a rolled-up cloak. His eyes gleamed like twin polished jetstones, and his savage-toothed mouth was partially open in a curious gape.

"What are you doing out here, badger?" The thief looked bemused and ragged. Small, but formidable.

"Looking for you actually."

"No kidding, shouting my name to heaven & hell." He grinned towards the darkness, assuming a casual mannerism. "Looking for me. Well I hope its not for the same reason the other lucies nabbed me."

"Actually I came to offer some help."

Aaron issued a chuckle that was primarily scornful, but perhaps had some hidden admiration lying somewhere near the bottom. "Whoever you are, you're a flipping nut."

Ignoring the jibe, Lukas pressed for information. "How on earth did you find me? I was calling out for nearly twenty minutes, travelled just as long, and could hardly find a trace of you or the louts who took you."

"They knew they might be stepping across the line when they came for me, so they wanted to travel carefully. No torches, no unnecessary noise, and they tried staying parallel the paths so they might walk into the flank of any ambushes.  There were only four guards though, so they'd have stood little chance against a good ambush - not that I was expecting one."

"Well, you had little right to I suppose."

Aaron gave a nod and an acknowledging simper. "But that also begs the question of your coming for me in the first place. A prospective pick-pocket?  The noble, heroic youth out to prove himself?  Or perhaps you're just looking for an out from your village?  Tired of the hum-drum day-to-day?"

"Who you are isn't so much a concern to me as who the ones that stole you are. By the way, you didn't happen to leave anyone alive did you?" Lukas nodded at the blood stains.

"Two dead. The other two have definitely found them by now, though I don't know what they'll do - either go looking for me or head for home.  Maybe go back to the village.  Oh, and stop acting so even-keeled.  Th' young scrap you are, I could be your uncle." "Of a badger..."

"Badger or not. You've got no business out here, as you certainly don't know how to conduct it.  You're no youngling of a badger but you're not a guilded one either." That was a little more than dejecting. Sheepishly he asked: "I don't suppose you know the way back from here do you?  I'd have no problem during the day, but..." Aaron shook his head in disapproval. "I could, but I'm not familiar with the area - the guards got me turned around before I could rid of them."

"Might as well bunk until dawn then." Lukas suggested.

"Be my guest. I'm getting out of here;  I don't have anywhere I need to be, and I'm not some dirt-nose welp that sleeps when Bloods are out to kill me, especially during the night."

Lukas walked back to his resting spot and stuck the blade into the sod. "Alright then - good luck getting out of the countryside though. There's no way you'll get out of the precinct before the guards have been notified.  That much I do know." "Phff. As if they're going to alert the whole, what, three counties by word before I can hightail it out of here?"

"Not by word. If you had payed attention upon entering the region you might have noticed all the towers we have built everywhere.  Had you noticed the towers you might have noticed the giant lanterns built on them.  They're used for signalling.  When your guards reach the nearest authorities they could have all the precincts in the region ready and on alert within an hour if they so wished."

The thief didn't show the depreciation this caused to his will. "They don't have enough soldiers, nor the care to put such a hunt on for one beast."

"Depends on how much they value their own blood. Enough said, Aaron?  You don't think they put day-creatures like myself on nightguard do you?" The possum grumbled. "I suppose it's not much of a choice." He paced for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. "I don't sleep at night though. And if I don't go now I might not get out at all.  I have to go." As he was about to sneak off he hesitated. "By the way, how did you know my name?"

"Most everyone does. None of your species have even visited here in three years."

"Cads, well that's just grand." Giving Lukas a quick glance he sent his salutations.

"Well, what you did tonight was incredibly stupid, badger, but brave - that much I'll lend you. I don't advise doing it again, lest you want to end up a pincushion - or drafted, though I guess that's not much of a difference." Without further ado he disappeared into the night.

"You're welcome - priggish dastard..." Lukas growled under his breath. He'd just risked his neck and his honor to help that thing, only to be mocked and cast off by it. Never had he witnessed such a display of ungrateful behavior. Truly creatures couldn't be made that way, could they? Eventually his internal ranting subsided to his want of rest, and he slept the rest of the moon away.